Let me first say that I’m no lawyer. Most of my knowledge about the laws of the land comes mainly from my experience covering court cases as a journalist. But recently, when I saw the picture of a man circulating on various social media platforms with allegations of rape and abuse, I immediately thought what a handsome lawsuit that would be.
Not surprisingly, those images quickly went viral, fueled no doubt by the recent spike in criminal acts against women, including rape and murder.There is no denying that these gruesome acts have sparked a deep sense of fear in the society in general, not just the victims of crime and their families. I worry about my teenage nieces and all the other young women who might be in danger from predators, both known and unknown. In times like these, it is understandable that people would want to be more cautious. What is not understandable, and certainly inexcusable, is when persons choose to capitalize on the frenzied fear gripping the population, and seek to create mass hysteria by spreading “fake news”.
Fear of becoming a victim of crime does not give anyone the right to post or share criminal allegations about anyone without any kind of evidence that this person has actually committed a crime. I was equally taken aback when I saw some of the people who were sharing these posts and posting ominous warnings to their audiences. People who I know personally, and who I once considered to be critical thinkers, failed to live up to these standards and scrutinize the information they were sharing.
This is by no means an endorsement of the abusers among us. Those who are perpetrators of violence against women, or anyone, must be exposed and brought to justice. But like the boy who cried wolf, you do more harm than good when you help to spread false information and in an attempt to warn people about a danger that doesn’t exist. No matter how pure your intentions, think about the fact that the real criminal could be getting away while you have the public focused on an innocent person.
Thankfully, the police are doing their jobs. A 35 year old woman who was arrested and charged for spreading false information turned out to be the alleged scorned lover of one of the men whose photo spread like wildfire with damning criminal allegation. I hope to see these kinds of arrests more often. Access to the internet and social media is not a licence to ruin people’s lives. If you see or hear information about a crime or criminals, take it to the police where it belongs.
And for heaven’s sake, those with digital access and the intellect capacity to embark on critical thinking would be better served spending a few extra minutes investing the authenticity of information rather than opting to be a purveyor of fake news.